business owners-opinions

[libby]

If you received a complaint from a customer that your product is/was bad, do you replace it sight unseen? My family has largely taken customers at their word if they contact us to say something was broken/stale/otherwise damaged in shipping, etc. and replaced the product/s immediately.
Recently we put a new item up on our website that isn't out in our front store; if someone orders it online we just make it up. We received a complaint that this item was received as a gift (we haven't received an order for this through the web site, yet)
We were contacted by someone who claims they received this item and another, and that one was damaged and one was just no good. We asked her to bring the items in for immediate replacement. She claims she doesn't live nearby. I asked her to mail the damaged items back and we would replace immediately and refund shipping, she claimed she threw them away. At that, I dropped it. She has written back again this morning saying she threw the products away because they were no good.
We feel this is a hoax because item #1 isn't even really available, which raised our suspicions right away. However, with social media being what it is, I don't want a negative review or something. Buuuuutttt...we don't want to establish a pattern for people who want something for free to just complain and we will send you free product.

I know I'm verbose, and I'm sorry. Any thoughts?

 

[frequentflier]

Hard call, Libby. There are many opportunists out there. Without the original product, you cannot determine whether or not the claim is legit. Do they even have proof of purchase as in a receipt or can you contact the person that supposedly gave it as a gift?

 

[MMDad]

Do you have a policy either online or in the store? If not, make one quick that states that the item must be returned for refund/exchange and post it. Then tell them that you will be happy to exchange the item. That way you can start at a defined point and decide if you want to relax the policy for unusual circumstances instead of having to tighten the policy when your BS detector goes off.

If they do try to bad mouth you, a respectful reply to the feedback stating "we'll be happy to replace/refund as soon as you return the item at our cost." If I see negative feedback that has a professional and courteous reply, I see it as more of a positive for the business.

 

[libby]

Okay, I've sent her an email asking her for a phone number at which I can call her to discuss how to resolve this to her satisfaction. This will allow me to say a few things like, "it's customary to have the product or receipt when asking for a replacement or refund", without it being "in writing" that I'm basically accusing her of lying.
We will see how well this goes over!

 

[libby]

Do you have a policy either online or in the store? If not, make one quick that states that the item must be returned for refund/exchange and post it. Then tell them that you will be happy to exchange the item. That way you can start at a defined point and decide if you want to relax the policy for unusual circumstances instead of having to tighten the policy when your BS detector goes off.

If they do try to bad mouth you, a respectful reply to the feedback stating "we'll be happy to replace/refund as soon as you return the item at our cost." If I see negative feedback that has a professional and courteous reply, I see it as more of a positive for the business.

You're right, MM, we do need to put something like that up on our site. I'll get going on that right away!

 

[vraiblonde]

We asked her to bring the items in for immediate replacement. She claims she doesn't live nearby. I asked her to mail the damaged items back and we would replace immediately and refund shipping, she claimed she threw them away. At that, I dropped it. She has written back again this morning saying she threw the products away because they were no good.

That's her problem, then. Everyone with two brain cells to rub together knows to keep your receipt and that they will be required to return the defective item for replacement. She's trying to scam you and I'd tell her too bad.

 

[Gilligan]

This will allow me to say a few things like, "it's customary to have the product or receipt when asking for a replacement or refund",

It certainly is "customary". I've dealt with very, very few suppliers or vendors over the years that would even consider replacing a product until they had received the "defective" item back.

 

[libby]

Okay, is seems she's backing off now. I told her I wanted to work with her, but needed some verification of the purchase. I asked if she could provide her friend's name in hopes that she used a credit card or check. Naturally, she came back with "she paid cash", and then she said she was sorry for the inconvenience. I guess she's done trying to convince us this was for real. I'm astonished at how much time and effort people put into trying to rip someone else off.

Thanks all.